Late Night Journey
by Lolext90
Summary: Ace is travelling by train one rainy night when he suddenly sees himself sitting beside a certain blue-haired woman. Time goes on, and live makes them meet again, but under other circumstances, which they'll have to face.
1. The Journey

**Hello, readers! I came up with this story a few days ago. It was late and it was raining, and it simply came to me. This is not an AcexNojiko exactly (though I do support the pairing). The thing is that, this is an idea I had of how could thay have met, if they had ever done.**

**I'm sorry if I misspell/ write something wrong, but English isn't my first language. Please, read and comment!**

The rain fell softly on the train. It was almost one a.m, but Ace still had quite a long way to go until he arrived to his destiny.

He had been on his own for a few hours now, and he couldn't be happier about that.

The train had stopped at a station, but he couldn't care less. He didn't even know how much time it had been there, he was just watching the dark outside and the raindrops fall on the window.

Suddenly, he noticed some movement: The train resumed its way again, just as Ace closed his eyes, letting narcolepsy take over him.

When he opened his eyes again, his face was still looking at the window. He blinked a couple of times as he gazed at the reflection on the glass. There was something different.

He turned to see the person who had sat beside him:

A young, blue-haired woman was curled up on the seat next to him. She was deeply asleep and her head had fell on his shoulder.

'But wha…?' he thought 'Who's this? Why is she sitting next to me?' he couldn't avoid taking a look at the rest of the carriage to confirm it was still empty, which it was. He tried to decide if it was best to let her sleep or wake her up and tell her to go to sit elsewhere.

"Hey, miss" he called her, shaking her rather carelessly "Wake up. You fell on me"

Slowly, the woman opened her eyes and looked up at Ace, realising what was happening.

"Oh! Sorry" she apologized, sitting up "I guess I slipped while I was sleeping"

"I suppose you guessed right" he muttered as the woman stretched herself.

"What time is it?" she asked him.

"Late" was his only answer. She looked at him rising an eyebrow and with an inquisitive expression on her face. He smiled at her, letting her know he was just joking "I have no idea. I also fell asleep"

"Yes, I heard that" she muttered, loud enough for him to hear. This time, it was his turn rise an eyebrow, and now it was her who smiled "You snore" she explained.

"Well, you could've moved if it bothered you" he stated, turning to watch through the window once again.

The young woman giggled a bit. She found him kind of funny.

"I'm Nojiko, by the way" she said, realising she hadn't introduced herself yet. He turned back to her.

"Ace" he said, after a moment of hesitation "Nice to meet you"

Both looked apart and lost themselves in their own thoughts. The silence that was growing between them was only broken by the rain, still falling from outside the train.

Ace looked at Nojiko, who had put her head on her hand and was wandering her view all over the place.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked back, without looking at him. She had to admit that question made her feel a little uncomfortable coming from a complete stranger. As an answer, he shrugged. Nojiko sighted, deciding it didn't really matter.

"Home" she simply answered "And you?"

He shrugged again, but this time with a doubtful look.

"Wherever I arrive to, I guess"

Nojiko wasn't sure about what to say, so she remained quiet, and so did Ace.

Time kept going, and in the meantime, the couple talked about regular matters, facts about their lifes, and things without interest which are not worth mentioning. But then, Ace asked her the question.

"Why did you sit next to me?" that caught her by surprise, for she had to make up her mind, and figure out an answer.

"Well… this is the seat they gave me… but…" she looked around the carriage. It was still empty.

She couldn't answer. She had just done it, but she didn't know why, seeing she had plenty more space.

Soon, Nojiko arrived in Cocoyashi, but she hadn't been able to answer Ace, and she would never be able to, for they would never meet again…

… or would they?

**Well, what do you think? Comment and be nice, please :$**


	2. Going Back

**Hi, every one! Here I bring the second chapter of what I've decided it won't be a One-Shot anylonger.**

**I don't want this to be just a "Romance" story, and I want to situate it a bit further into the future, but I need to explain some things first, so the peace of the first chapter will change, but even so I'll try to uplode some chapters in the same line :P**

**If you want to leave your opinion or suggestion, please be nice.**

**Enjoy!**

Ace had heard about that man who claimed to have killed Blackbeard, and who was in Alabasta, in the Grand Line. It was very annoying to have to go back there so soon.

The morning after he had arrived to the town where he had left his little yellow boat, he started his way to Alabasta. If it was tue that man had been able to bump Blackbeard off (which he doubed), it wouldn't be long until he went back to the Moby Dick. He smiled at that thought.

He had also heard that his little brother had become a pirate and that he was heading towards the Grand Line aswell. He would finally be able to meet him again, after three years.

The wind rushing through his hair was getting even faster and Ace had to colse his eyes a bit to avoid it getting into them.  
He had to slow down, not only because of the wind, but also the waves crashing against his little boat.

He sighted as he looked up to the sky.

'Damn' he thought. The clouds had gathered all over him, and he didn't doubt it would start raining at any momet, and, actually, he would have bet that would've turned out to be a storm, and that was too dangerous with his boat, and regarding tha fact that he couldn't swim.

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He arrived in a town just as the rain started to fall harder.

There was no one in the streets, so he walked around, looking for somewhere to stay until the rain ceased.

It took him a while, for everything was either closed or a pivet proerty (It had been more than once the times he had though there was a restaurant or inn, but it had been just somebody who had the lights of his or her house turned on. Ace stopped paying attention when he saw he couldn't stay there. These mistakes were due to the hard rain that was falling).

He could hardly believe it when he stopped in front of a big door with a sing on top which read "Restaurant".

This could have been just another of the many similar scenes he had lived in the short time he had been in that town, but the light that came from the inside through the liitle window on the door and the absence of a "Closed" sing lit his heart with hope.

He approached the door and tried to pull from it.

He was very disappointed by the fact it didn't open.

'Damn!' he thought again, with a sight of exasperation. He would have to keep looking for...

Suddenly, the door swang open, and a man in the therefold of the door appeared. He probably was on his mid-fifties, but he looked much older. He had dark, deep-set eyes, which looked at him with a skeptical gaze.

"You have to push" he told him.

"Oh!" Ace simply said. The old man stepped away to let Ace in.

The young man looked around the restaurant: It was rather big. It had wooden floors and walls. It was decorated with all sort of pictures all over the place, and an old song sounded from somewhere that Ace couldn't identify. There was also a chimney on a lonely corner, away from the tables which were waiting for some one to sit at them.

At the bar, there was a woman looking at him without denying a certain dislike towards their visitor, but Ace didn't seem to care.

"Make yourself comfortable" the old man told him "I'll bring you a towel so you can get yourself dry"

Ace thanked the man as he went to get it.

Once he was alone with that woman, he approached the bar leaving wet footsteps behind him. She gave him an irritated look, which he decided to ignore.

**Well, what do you think? I know this chapter is not an AcexNojiko, but I need it for the story :S**


	3. Who's Ace?

**Hello again! I hapo you all enjoy this chapter. I've been told that the last chapter was, somehow, a bit confusing, so I've tried to explain Nojiko's situation this time. **

**By the way! I think I won't need much time to get to an important part (where the story starts getting a bit more interesting), for I'm going to skip as much as I can so that this first part of the story isn't too long.**

The sun shone bright that day, so Nojiko stayed by the shadow of the orange trees while she picked the mandarines which were ready to sell. She cleaned the sweat that runned all over her forehead.

"Well, I think this is enough for today" she said out loud, picking up the basket she had at her feet, filled with mandarines.

"Oi, Nojiko!" a voice called her. She turned around and saw Genzo heading towards her "I've been looking for you" he told her with a smile of gladness on his face.

"Good morning, Genzo"she greeted "What brings you here?"

He rised an eyebrow.

"What? Can't I just come around to say hello?" he said, pretending an offended tone.

Nojiko chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Genzo" she answered.

"Actually" Genzo started after a few seconds of silence "I was wondering if Miss I-Have-No-Time-To-Spare would like to contact the rest of the world for any reason".

She blinked, realising she had been the past two weeks alone, with no other company than mandarines.

"Oh, well, T guess I've been a pretty ocupied with work" she lied a bit, for she was embarrased by the fact that she had been thinking about the question that a certain freckled man had asked her.

"Would you like, for any chance, to come over town and have a nice talk with another human being?" Genzo kept teasing her.

She rolled her eyes.

"I'll be there in a while" she told him "I need to leave this at home first"

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Genzo was waiting for her at the entrance of the town.

"Here I am!" she exclaimed when she finally got there. As she arrived, they started their way into town.

"How have you been these weeks? You told me you had some business in a town near here"

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed "I sold a good amount of mandarines" she explained, proudly "It looks like there aren't mandarines better than mine in this island" she laughed.

Genzo laughed with her.

"Of course not!" he said.

They remained silent for a while.

Suddenly, Nojiko stopped walking, but Genzo didn't notice until he was a few feet away from her.

"Hum? Nojiko, what's the matter?" she was looking at some wanted posters, and she didn't seem to have heard him. He was about to call her again when she muttered something.

"Ace?"

"Ace? Who's Ace?" he asked her as he approached her. She didn't answer, but kept looking at the poster "Nojiko, are you all right?" he was now a bit worried.

She turned back to him with what he thought that was a forced smile.

"I'm fine" she said. Genzo stared at her, not really believing her. She ignored his gaze and started her way again, but he didn´t move, and when she noticed, she turned back at him "Oi, c'mon!"

He followed her mistrustfully. Maybe he shouldn't touch that subject, whatever it was.

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On her way back home, she picked the wanted poster that had caught her eye before. Now she was sitting on her bed looking at the picture in the poster. There was no doubt he was the man that she had met in that train: Ace, or, Portgas D Ace.

She had heard about the famous "Fire Fist Ace", but she wouldn't have thought she would get to meet him, much less in the way she did.

She left the poster on her bed an walked to the window. The only remain of the rain was a memory.

She had liked that guy. Could he really be a pirate?

Then she thought again. Nami was a pirate, and so was Luffy, who had saved her village. Maybe Ace wasn't that bad, in spite of his bouty.

'Well, in a storm, behind the clouds, there's a sun" she thought to herself. She walked back to her bed and let herself fall on the pillows. It wasn't really worth to think about it.


	4. The persecution

**Hi, there! Here I bring you a chapter which I've tried for it to be more interesting! I hope you like it ! ;D**

After he had looked for Luffy in vain, Ace had finally been able to leave him a message, a few days before. Now, he was in Alabasta. It would only be a matter of time that he showed up, so he just had to be patient and wait for him. He also had to find out whether Blackbeard was dead or not, but he hadn't any clue for where to start looking for who, supposedly, had killed him.

In other words: He didn't know what to do.

He decided to have a walk around the city to try to find Luffy, just in case he was there already.

He made his way through the streets, asking random people if they had seen the rubber idiot, but no one seemed to have seen him.

'Maybe he's not here yet' he thought to himself. He was in a big street, filled with little stores and local shoppers, and it was rather difficult to move around there 'I don't think it would be too difficult to notice his presence if he was near here' he sighted.

He shuddered. There was something wrong. He had the feeling that somebody was following him, but he shook his head to take those thoughts away. There were far to many people there. It was just that... Was it?

What he did next was mostly instinctively. He started to speed up, but due to tha amount of people it was almost impossible.

A fight there wouldn't be good either.

He had to push the people in front of him to make his way to a proper place for a fight, but once he got out of that street, he arrived to another one still too populated, so he didn't stop.

'Perfect' he thought sarcastically. He kept running, faster every time. There was almost anybody left where he was now. 'Just a little more...'

When he finally got to a dessert street, he turned around, ready to attack... but he saw no one.

Even so, Ace kept on guard. He undid his steps, looking fo r some one hiding somewhere nearby, willing to kill him, but he didn't find anybody.

He relaxed with a sight, feeling stupid. What kind of pirate was he?

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Kureiji Chuckled, hidden in the shadows. That dumb-ass wouldn't be able to find her even if his life depended on that.

Of course she knew what was he trying to do! So, in the last moment, she had jumped to an open window she had seen on a second floor-with the skills she had gained in all those years of training- from where she now kept an eye on the street, with all of her discretion.

She was beside herself with joy: She had finally found his trail after all that time looking for him, and he wouldn't even be aware of that, not even when she singed his doom. She had to contain a maniac laugh just at the thought of what she had been able to do, and, of course, the consequences for Fire Fist.

"Oi!" some one shouted behind her. She turned around and saw a woman (most probably the owner of the house) "What are you doing here!?" she yelled. Kureiji didn't notice the woman had a broom in her hand until she smashed it on her head.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed. The woman kept yelling at her, so Kureiji decided it was time to leave at once. She did the first thing she thought of. To jump through the window. But when her feet touched the ground, she remembered "Fire Fist!" she shouted in a shock. She quickly tapped her mouth with her hands and looked all around, fearing he was still there. With a sight of relief, she saw he wasn't. She recomposed herself again, and, with a superior tone, she said: "Stupid Fire Fist"

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For now, Kureiji had more than enough. The information she had collected would make that bloody Fire Fist go straight to Impel Down.

She hated pirates. She'd always had. But she hated Ace tha most. But why? Nobody knew. Everything she ever said about that was that she wouldn't stop until Portgas D Ace was killed.

She knew that she was no match for him, that she would never be able to defeat him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do her best to see him dead.

She was now sailing away from Alabasta, on her own boat.

But it wasn't just ant boat: It was one of the Marine's newest inventions.

That was one of the fastest things tha ocean had ever met; though it was composed by nothing but a little capsule with controls which moved the propellers situated at the back af the structure. It could go at low, medium and high-speed, and that way she had followed Ace without been seen.

Yes... Ace...

This time, she didn't stop her maniac laugh.

"Hhahahaha!" she cried "Your days are counted, Portgas D Ace! Just wait and see!"


	5. Top Secret

**Sorry for the long wait! I've been really busy these past few weeks, but I've finally uploaded another chapter! Enjoy!**

Kureiji was sitting in front of Sengoku in a cold, little office with stone walls.

Finally, she had got _the_ audience: The audience that would make her dreams come true. She had expected that it would take longer to be given to her, though, but that was one of the reasons of her good mood.

"So, what did you find out?" he asked her-who was wide-eyed, with her mouth open and stretched in what seemed to be a smile, trying to break the silence there had been since the very moment she had put a foot in the room.

"Yes, sir!" she suddenly exclaimed, rebuilt herself "When I left the base, I went to the Grand Line, where I had last heard of Fire Fist. It took a while to find his location from a trustworthy resource. It seemed that Portgas D Ace's yellow boat had been seen on the island Arlong had taken over a few years ago. The one that was freed by a bunch of pirates" she spat that last bit "I supposed he wouldn't stay long around there, so I waited around the area, but I didn't see him leave, so I had to look for him, until I finally found him!" she made a pause, trying to add some emotion to her tale "I stopped at _Umi Island, _not too far from the one he had been in. I didn't have many hopes on finding him there, but, just in case, I found a job in a restaurant, so that I could hear everything that happened there from the locals" she explained, putting her index on her temple, showing this way how intelligent she was "And then!" she suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands on a quick movement "BANG! One rainy night he appears out of no where in the establishment. And that's how I found his trail" she explained,

Sengoku had rested his head on his hand.

"So?"

"Oh, yes! I followed him to the Grand Line, he started wondering around many islands, looking for Monkey D Luffy, but he didn't find him. In the end he went to Alabasta and stayed there" she leant over the table that was between them "And there I found out that he had been sent by WhiteBeard to kill BlackBeard, who had murdered one of WhiteBeard's men"

"Yes, I have already heard about that" he stated.

"What?" he damned himself in his inside "You already knew it?

"I... " he started

"I've been following that pirate for weeks... and I didn't find out anything of interest?" her voice showed a psycho tone that only Kureiji could have.

"No!" Sengoku exclaimed. He had worked with her long enough to know you shouldn't upset her. At the beginning she had only been hired to find a couple of pirates whose trail had been lost, but her effectiveness made her a place in the Marine as a spy. This case, though, was being a bit different, for she couldn't face Ace -or any of the Devil's Fruit users "You... you found him!"

"But..." she started, looking up at him.

"You've done a good job, Kureiji" he interrupted her "You don't have to worry about it anymore. Smoker's in Alabasta and..."

"SMOKER'S IN ALABASTA!?" She shouted. She had stood up at this point "Sir, you told me I could take care of Fire Fist myself!" She now felt very small in front of the duty she had been given, but she wouldn't give up.

"Kureiji..." Sengoku sighted, rubbing his face with his hands "He was after Monkey D Luffy, and he bumped into Ace there" he calmly explained "Calm down" she did as she wa told and she sat back on her seat "Look, you've always been a valuable mate in the Marine, but you can't get so obsessed. You've always had a cold mind at work and you've always done a good job. Now you're too blinded with taking Fire Fist down, and you're not paying the attention you need to the previous steps" she looked down at her knees "Many people had been thrown out for much less, but you are very useful to us, so I'm warning you. Be careful" once he was done, he sighted "Now you better go back to Alabasta and keep in touch with us. We don't know where he'll go after he leaves the Staw Hats, so it will be good if you're there to keep an eye on him and report us anything strange or valuable information."

"Yes, sir" she said, feeling stupid. Her pride had been broken into pieces in the last few minutes.

"Very well, then" he sentenced, standing up and heading towards the door "I expect you to leave immediately and find Portgas D Ace again right away" His tone was now severe, what made her want to break out of the room with a hysteria attack, but she knew far too well that wouldn't be good for her at that moment, so she contained herself.

Once she was alone, she remained on her seat, cursing on Ace for the millionth time.


	6. The news

That morning Nojiko was in a special good mood: Her mandarin business had been going better for the last few months.

The beautiful weather had suddenly changed in a matter of hours. Even so, that didn't bring her her down. On walk to town, the wind showed no mercy on her, but she didn't mind at she had time to find shelter, it started drizzling, so she ran to a bar nearby, still with a grin on her face.

The heat of the local overwhelmed her as she came in from the cold streets. She was getting her coat off when she noticed a group of people , in which she saw Genzo, gathered at the bar, talking about something that seemed exciting.

"Hello, guys" she greeted them cheerfully as everyone's eyes turned to her.

"Hello, Nojiko" Genzo greeted her back.

"What are you talking about?" Nojiko asked them, trying to join their conversation.

"Haven't you heard yet?" a woman, a bit older than her, asked her.

"Heard what?"

"It happened yesterday" a man told her, without explaining her what "It looks like the Marine had been after him, so when it all happened, it was only a matter of minutes that a huge fleet was there to take him!"

"Yes! It was this crazy marine who called them. What was her name?" a young boy next to Genzo wondered "Kujeki? Keruiji?" Nojiko wasn't paying attention to him anymore, for she had noticed a dark shadow on Genzo's expression. He was very serious, and that was worrying her. She still didn't know what had happened, but whatever it was, it sure wasn't good.

Genzo knew it. He knew something had been going on ever since he saw her looking at those wanted posters, a few months before. And he knew that she wouldn't like the news.

"I'm not following you" she reminded them, a bit scared due she already knew, thanks to Genzo's expression, that there was something wrong "What's happened?"

"The Marine has caught Fire Fist Ace!" the woman exclaimed. Nojiko tried to say something, but words never left her throat "It was actually BlackBeard who defeated him, and when the Marines arrived, he handed him over to them.

"What?" was all that Nojiko was able to say. She was absolutelly astonished. Ace? Portgas D Ace? "Wh...? But...!"

"Yeah, we reacted the same way" another woman told her " I mean, Porgas D Ace! One of WhiteBeard's pirates! In Impel Down!"

"Impel Down?" she repeated.

"Of course. Where'd you think they would take him?" the young man beside Genzo asked her "It will have horrible consequences, though. WhiteBeard won't just let the Marine kill one of his men"

"Oh, boy, I wouldn't like to be in his skin!" the other man opined, radically changing the subject "I don't know what do they do to pirates in Impel Down! The only thing I know is that if you go in, you never come out!"

"Considering who he is he must be the most guarded prisoner. Who knows what kind of torments he's suffering right now!" the first woman continued.

"Anyone who goes into Impel Down suffers them" the young boy said "as-a-matter-of-factly"

"C'mon, man! He's Portgas D Ace! He must have been jailed with criminals like Crocodile! He must be under the worst of tortures!" the man beside Nojiko exclaimed.

At this point, she couldn't keep listening. Her legs were trembling and she had the feeling that her heart was slipping down to her stomach. Cold sweat drops ran down her temple, and she stared at the group, wide-eyed.

"Nojiko, what's the matter?" a worried Genzo asked her.

She tried to force a smile, but she doubted that had bought it "Nothing!" she answered "But I've got to go now" she excused herself "See you around" she said, walking backwards to the door

She put her jacket back on and rushed into the dark, grey evening. It was still raining. Things weren't so nice now.

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She didn't know why was she so upset bout what happened to him: She had only seen him once in her whole life, and he was a pirate. Those were the consequences for being a pirate. He was old enough to know it.

No, she didn't have to feel sorry for him... but she still remembered him clearly. It wasn't nice to believe that nice guy she had met, so many months ago, on a late night journey, was now suffering, trapped in Impel Down. She couldn't avoid feeling bad for him.

But, was it really fair? She didn't really know him. How could she be so sure he was good person?

'It's still hard to believe' she kept telling herself.

She imagined the young, freckled man alone, in a cell of Impel Down.

She shack her head. She was sure he wouldn't like people to feel sorry for him.

Besides, she couldn't do anything. She had heard that the Marine would enter a war with WhiteBeard, who wanted to save Ace, so he might still have a chance.

It was up to time to say what would happen.


	7. Impel Down

**Hello readers! I'm back with another chapter! :3 For those who wonder when am I going to start with the AcexNojiko, it will be in another few chapters (I can't really say ho many, but not many, I promise) I'm doing this first part like this because I'm going set this story a bit further into the future, and I need Ace alive, and also Kureiji will have an important role in the story. This is also why I'm rushing it so much, I only want to tell the useful bits :S. And by the way! In the next chapter, I'll start explaining a bit of Kureiji's life, and why does she hates pirates (mostly Ace) so much.**

**Hope you've had a nice Christmas :D Enjoy!**

Ace rested his head on the wall. He felt so weak. He turned his head to see his right hand, which was hanging, seeming lifeless, from the Kairoseki chain that nailed him to the wall. In the dark, he could distinguish a large, blue figure. Jimbei had been silent for a long while now, and was looking at the floor pensively. Ace sighted.

He heard footsteps approaching, but he didn't make the effort to see who was it. There was really no point.

"Well, well, well, who have we here?" Kureiji's high voice made him shut his eyes closed, wishing it was just an imagination, but knowing it wasn't, he forced himself to stare up at her, looking he straight in the eye. He wasn't willing to be humiliated by her "Isn't it our Ace-kun? It's nice to se you around here. Hahahahaha! " she laughed at her own... hum... was it a joke? Ace gave her a disgusted expression when he heard that maniac laugh he had learned to hate "Oh! Don't look at me like that. If it was for me, you wouldn't even be here... You would be dead! Hahahaha!" she kept laughing.

'If I ever get out of here, I'll kill her' he thought. He could still hear her laughing. "Are you done yet?" he spat with the coldest of tones. This didn't seem to please he, but, still, she smirked.

"Oh, well, our guest wants to be alone, doesn't he? Aren't you having fun, Ace-kun?" he clenched his teeth, trying to contain his rage.

"Don't play with fire, Kureiji"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to be funny?"

Ace tried to approach the bars of his cell as much as his chains let him "I'm not kidding, I'm warning" his voice was full of anger, which made Kureiji laugh again. Suddenly, she turned serious, approaching the bars as well.

"Seriously, Fire Fist, you're not in the position of warning. You'll be executed in a few days time, and meanwhile you're stuck in Level 6 of Impel Down" she reminded him. Slowly, she walked back a few steps "So, if I were you, I would be very careful on what you say" she turned around and walked away without another word.

'Finally' he thought in relief, resting himself back on the cold wall.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The lift kept going up. How could it take so long? She was impatiently looking at its ceiling.

"I've got other things to do, you damned machine!" she shouted. The principal reason she was there was that she was the one in charge of Portgas D Ace. she had to be over him day and night, and she had a troop of soldiers under her command in case of escape, but she had also been sent there because, in spite of all, she always did a succesful job, and the Marines wouldn't risk themselves to ruin Fire Fist's execution.

This meant that she also had to be aware of any strange circumstance which could cause and interruption in Ace's execution.

When she finally got to Level 1, she headed towards the main door, where Hannybal and Domino where waiting to receive Boa Hanckock and Momonga.

"Just in time" Domino said when she saw her arrive. She replaced her sunglasses over her nose "Our visitors have just arrived"

"Good" she said "In that case I'll be back to work soon" though she had said that, she knew that Boa Hanckock had asked to see Fire Fist. And there were a couple of things she didn't like about that: First, Kureiji didn't like people to visit Fire Fist without her presence. She wouldn't trust anyone on that matter until she saw him dead. Second, although Boa Hanckock was a Shichibukai, she still was a pirate, so she was even less trustworthy. Still, she had orders to obey.

The door opened, and their guests came inside the prison.

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Hours had passed since Boa Hancock and Momonga's arrival, and now, everything was out of control: Straw Hat Luffy had somehow managed to get into Impel Down, and he was with two other prisoners. Plus, someone, most likely one of the three people mentioned before, had let escape the prisoners from Level 2, and now the marines were trying to control the riot.

"They're in Level 3, Kureiji-san!" a soldier informed her.

"Leave them for now! Saldeath will take care of them!" she almost shouted. 'Keep cold Kureiji' she told herself 'They're going down, just as Sengoku said, so they're trying to rescue Fire Fist'

"Miss, what shall we do?" a soldier asked her. She took a deep breath.

"We have to move Ace" she declared.

"P... Pardon?" the man looked confused "B... But..."

"If Straw Hat and his friends keep managing to go down, he might reach Level 6. I know it's almost impossible, but I've heard about what that young boy's done before, and I don't know what can happen if he keeps on like this..."she said "My duty here is to make Fire Fist get to Marineford. And that is what I'll do" the soldier beside her was about to say something more, but Kureiji cut him "Everyone thinks he won't be transported until only solution I've got in mind is to take him to the base as soon as possible, before they suspect on our intentions"

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Sengoku listened carefully to what Kureiji was saying.

"As far as I know, Staw Hat is heading now towards Level 4. This is an emergency, sir. We have to make a move _now. _Luffy thinks that Fire Fist won't be moved until tomorrow, so this is our chance to take him out of here without Straw Hat knowing, and that way it'll be easier to trap him here. As for Fire Fist, he could sped the night in a cell in Marineford until his execution. This way we can get rid of the worry of Monkey D Luffy and all the problems we're having here in Impel Down affect our duty with Ace" Sengoku pondered at her words without saying anything. She kept trying to convince him "Of course, I will take with me the necessary amount of soldiers to keep the prisoner, and I will personally keep an eye on him the whole night if needed"

"Ok, Kureiji. You may go ahead with your plan. I will take care of Ace's stay here. But I hope for your own good that your plan works. If Portgas D Ace doesn't make it to his execution, you will face the consequences" he warned her.

"Don't worry ,sir! Everything will go just fine!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Ok, then, I leave it in your hands. You have permission to move Fire Fist" then, he hung up.

'Perfect' she thought, hanging up as well. This would also be a perfect excuse to have a moment alone with Fire Fist. She couldn't stop an evil smile. Finally, he would know what had he done to her.

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Jimbei remained silent as he watched Ace in his desperation. He wasn't sure he should believe what that Boa Hancock had told him.

"That dumbass!" he exclaimed "Why would he have to come down here!?"

"You know... There are not many people crazy enough who would come in here just to rescue someone. Do you really think your brother woud be that stupid?"

"Of course he is!" he yelled in frustration "Coming down here is a suicide. It's too late for me, he should've known that! Now he'll die too!" Jimbei looked at him, and he could notice tears running down his cheeks. Then, he looked up at the ceiling and imagined Ace's brother, trying to get to them. Was there someone really that crazy?

He knew, as well as Ace did, that even if Luffy was able to make it there, it wouldn't have been of any use.

Ace couldn't lift hes head. Before the visit of that woman, he knew that even if he died, Luffy would be fine, but now...

'Go back, Luffy!' he thought '_Please_, leave'

Footsteps were heard down the corridor. He wouldn't have even bothered to look up if he hadn't heard many of them.

With the strength he had left, he managed sat up. He could only distinguish a few figures in the distance.

At the beginning, he didn't think they were coming for him, for there was still one more day to go until his execution, but the invariable course of the group and Kureiji's presence made him see he was wrong.

Even though, he couldn't help to wonder what were they doing there.

Ace looked at Jimbei, who was frowning at the group that headed towards them.

"Something's wrong" he said under his breath.


End file.
